Insulating blanket



Feb. 29, 1944. w B BYERS Y 2,342,839

INSULATING BLANKET Filed Aug. 2, 1940 ATTORN EY menteurs. 29,1`944UNITED STATES PA'rlsN'rf/4 OFFICE j msum'rmd stamm winne'. n. Byers, mmmcua-luc. Application Amst z, i949, serial No. ssaozs 19 claims. (ci.15s-'44) My invention relates to insulating blankets. The blanket of myinvention is a composite insulating blanket, comprising loose insulatingY' nbers with covering sheets of paper for holding the fibers inposition. It is particularly an important feature of my-inventionthatthe fibers are absolutely loose, that is,'that the same are notsecured to each otherin any manner, but are merely held in position inpockets, the fibers in each pocket being entirely unattached to' eachother.

It is an important purpose of my invention to provide an insulatingblanket having new and v improved means for holding loose fibers inposipresent in insulating blankets at present onthe market, such asthose in which layers of-flbers -are sewed betweenf'two cover sheets tohold the same in position, and to avoid the difilculties in manufacturethat exist in certain types kof insulating blankets, in which a mat ofloose fibers is made by spraying an adhesive on the fibers as the sameare laid into the mat. and drying the 'damp mat before covering it withenclosing sheets of paper. Myinvention utilizes the good properties ofthe above mentioned types of insulating blankets without having thedefects of either. For example, in the stitched type of blanket thecover sheets are perforated by the holes made during the stitchingprocess and thus cannot be made `vapor proof. In the type of blanket in'which the bers are fastened together in relatively flxed position toeach other by adhesive.

the cover sheets have a pronounced tendency to separate furtherapartthan the actual thickness of the insulation between the'm.'v unless theliber mat to which the Acovering sheets are cemented to form the blanketis denser than is necessary to provide the maximum insulating4 emciency.

'On'the other hand, my blanket canbe made vapor proof and the coversheets cannot separate further apart than these are intended to. and yetthe nber canbeinserted betweenthem ina lighter or iiufiler form thanyhas heretofore possible in insulating blankets.

It is a further purpose of my invention to pro y vide an insulatingblanket. in which the loose nber cannot settle orv fallout of position,and in' which it is possible to use a short fiber insulation, such aslwood fiber, orv wood cotton. without impr'egnating the fiber withadhesives, which may lower its insulating efilcienoy.

It is .another purpose of my invention to provide an insulating blanketthat` is provided with a water proof and vapor proof membrane between'thel warm side of the blanket and the'insulation. This is of greatimportance. because in the previously known insulating blankets.' a

' puncture at anyplace in the liner of 'a panel of insulation lets moistair into the entire panel, vthereby ieopar `the emciency of the entirepanel, while in my invention a puncuire will not let moist air into buta small section of the blanket, which in any case would be a very smallfraction of the whole panel.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide an 'insulatingblanket that is provided with a series of overlapping pockets, orchambers, in which the loose fibrous insulating material is enclosed.This avoids all rbssibility of there being any air pockets that areunfilled withinsulating material between the two covering plies, thepockets being formed by an intermediate ply of material that iscorrugated so as to make the same variable in length and which'extendsback and forth between the covering plies diagonally,

being at no points whatsoever perpendicular to the outer or enclosingsheets.

` It is a further purpose of my invention to pro- 'vide stripes ofasphaltic material, of highermelting point than that utilized over themaiorportions of the blanket, for securing the intermediate ply to theouter plies, certain of said stripes beingy applied to the plies ofmaterial at such Points that these will act to secure wide folds of theplies together to firmly secure these to each other, with' f one of saidplies doubled back along the side edges off the blanket, to seal thelongitudinal-edges thereo i 'Y Other objects and advantages of myinvention will appear as the description of the drawing proceeds., Idesire to have it understood, however, that I do not intend to limitmyself to the particular details shown or described, except as delinedinthe claims.

Inthe drawing: Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view partly insection, showing my improved insulating blanket applied to a wall.

`Fig.2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the insulating blanketbefore application to the wall. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinalenlarged sectional viewthrough the insulating blanket, taken on theline3--3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view on a still larger scale throughone of the side edge portions of the blanket, and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view, similar to Fig'. 3,but on a considerably larger scale.

Referring in detail to the drawing. my improved insulating blanketcomprises covering plies II and I2, which are made of a nbrous sheetmaterial, such as kraft paper, and which can be either plain or craped,if desired. Mounted between said covering plies II and I2 is anintermediate ply Il and alternating bodies of fibrous insulatingmaterial Il and I5, which lie on opposite sides of the intermediate plyI3 and which overlap each other longitudinally of the blanket, as willbe clear from Figs. 3 and 6. Each of the bodies of ilbrous insulatingmaterial Il and I5 extends crosswise the full width of the insulatingblanket. except for the folded flange portions provided thereon alongthe opposite margins thereof, as will be explained below.

'I'he fibrous material is in a loose fluffy condition and is,preferably, made of a wood fiber of a character ordinarily known as woodco`tton, or may be made of waste paper, or similar material, treated ina manner to form a fluffy brous cottony material thereof. Theintermediate ply It has portions It that engage the one covering ply II,and portions I1 that engage the other coverlng Ply II and are securedthereto. Said intermediate ply I3 is made oi' such a character that thelength thereof can be varied to get the desired positioning thereofbetween the outer or covering plies. Due to the undulating character ofits path in the blanket, it must, of course, be considerably longer thanthe other plies, and iurthermore there may be slight variations in thelength necessary between any two points of engagement with the oppositecovering plies to allow for any slight variations in the amount of thefibrous material in the pockets formed by it and the covering plies.IPreferahIy, the intermediate plv I l is corrugated to allow for thenecessary variation in the length thereof, although other means could beused to get this flexibility of length, such as craping. It has,however, been found much simpler to corrugate the sheet, and such acorrugated sheet has all the desirable characteristics required of theintermediate sheet. Preferably, this intermediate sheet is made ofsimilar kraft paper to that used for the outermost, or covering, plies,or sheets.

Along the longitudinal edges of the blanket the various plies are foldedtogether so as to form a strong and tight seal. and nailing strip. orflange. The longitudinal edge portions Il of the covering ply I I areengaged on one side by the longitudinal edge portions Il of theintermediate ply I2 and on the other side by the longitudinal edgeportions 2l of the other outer plv I2. The ply I2 extends at 2I alongthe opposite side of the edge portion Il of the ply I3 to that engagedby the longitudinal edge portion Il of the ply II and is doubled, orfolded back on itself at 22, to form the outermost ply of the fold,which is formed by the longitudinal edge portion 2li of the ply I2. Theply Il is narrower than the ply I 3, and the ply I3 is narrower than theply I2, the ply I 3 being also doubled back on itself at 23 inside thefold or doubled back portion 22 of the ply I2, to

form an outer fold 2| of the edge portion It of the ply Il that on oneside engages the edge portion I2 of said ply Il and on the other sideengages the outermost ply of the fold formed by the longitudinal edgeportion 20 of the ply I2.

Each of the plies II and I2 is provided with an undercoating of wax 25on the inner face thereof, which enters the' pores of the sheets, orplies, II and I2, and a coating 26 of asphaltic material, which has alower melting point than the wax, the wax thus preventing anypenetration of the asphaltic material through the outer plies II and I2,which might otherwise cause stickiness on the outer side thereof, suchas might cause the adjoining turns of a blanket, if rolled up on itself,to stick together. The melting point of the wax is high enough above themaximum temperatures encountered in the atmosphere to prevent anymelting thereof under any usual conditions of use in a building. The waxand the asphaltic material provide moistureproonng means for the blanketand the asphaltic material also serves as means for uniting theintermediate ply with the covering plies II and I2 at the points wherethese contact, that is, at I 6 and I1, as indicated in the drawing, andalso along the longitudinal side portions of the blanket where the foldsof the various plies are made to form the ilanges 2l. The intermediateply I 2 extends obliquely from one outer ply to the other outer ply, andthen along substantially parallel with the outer ply that it approachesfor a desired distance, to form the pockets, tapering somewhat in crosssection, and with the bases thereof alternately arranged to form theoverlapping pockets. or chambers, foi the nuy wood fiber insulatingmaterial, or similar insulating material, within the blanket. The ilangep0rtions 21 are secured in any desired manner, as by means of headedfastening elements, such as nails, to such structural members as thestuds 2l with the flat body portion of the blanket in contact with theat faces of the sheathing members 29.

The melting point of the wax 25 is, preferably, about degrees F., whilethat of the asphaltic material 26 is, preferably. about 120 degrecs F.

Stripes 26' of asphaltic material of still higher melting point areprovided on the sides of the covering plies that are next to thecorrugated ply and these stripes are, preferably, relatively narrow, inthe standard form of insulating 'blanket in which the bodies, 'orparcels, of loose nuii'y fibrous material lying between the flanges 2l,are sixteen inches long, being about an inch wide, and two of thestripes being placed approximately at the side edges of the outer pliesand the other two stripes being also about an inch wide and being spacedsubstantially about equal distances from each other and the twooutermost stripes. l'he material of the stripes 26' has a melting pointof about F.

The purpose of the stripes 26' of the asphaltic material having thehigher melting point is primarily to fasten together the edges of thethree sheets as these engage in going through the machine that makes theblanket, at a higher temperature than would be possible with thewaterproofing asphaltic material 26. A final temperature of from 100degrees F. to 130 degrees F. exists in the blanket at the time it leavesthe machine. particularly in warm weather, because the blanket travelsat the rate of from 60 to 'I0 lineal feet per minute as it is goingthrough the vescasas 3 stantially 120 degrees, it willnot be adhesiveenough to hold the sheets together in their proper relationship, whilethe stripes 26' will do this.

While considerable pressure .is applied to the v marginal edges yoi thesheets where the ilaps are formed to seal them, and these will sealunder this pressure at a wide variation in temperature.

hand, only a very slight pressure is exertedy on the fibrous portion ofthe blanket, so that the fibers will remain in a iluny condition, andfor that reason a very tacky asphalt of very low melting point is usedfor securing the intermediate ply to the coveringplies over that portionof the blanket where the iluiiy insulating material is incorporatedtherein. It is not essential that this be congealed as the blanket comesoil the ma.- chine, as experience has shown that. all that is necessaryis to have such tackiness as to hold the middle sheet in place, which isaccomplished by means of the stripes 26. The blanket can then be rolledup and placed in cartons after it leaves the machine,where it will gothrough the ilnal cooling step and solidication of the soft asphalticmaterial 26. The harder asphaltic stripes adjacent the side edges of theplies are suiilcient to hold the middle or intermediate ply in positionrelative to the covering plies, and while 4the stripes of the harderasphaltic material in the middle portion of the webs, or sheets, help-thold the middle, or intermediate, ply to the covering plies while theblanket -is hot, it is not absolutely necessary to provide theseintermediate or central stripes.

In the finished blanket the corrugations are almost stretched out andonly a slight crimping is noticeable. v

While the middle sheet, or ply i3 is shown as being'wider than theformed bodies of loose ilbrous material, this is not absolutelyessential, as these bodies could be heldin place, even if theintermediate ply did not extend into'the aps of the blanket, but,weremerely wide enough to weave back and forth from one covering ply tothe other through the brous illling.

What I claim is:

l. A flexible insulating blanket comprising a pair of spaced cover pliesof sheet material, ilexible extensible means mounted between saidl pliesto divide lthe space between the same into a pluralityof adjacentiiexible walled pockets, and loose insulating material in said pockets,said cover plies and said means being secured together along thelongitudinal margins of said blanket to close the endsof said pockets.

2. An insulating blanket comprising loose iluify fibrous insulatingmaterial enclosed within an lmperforate covering of brous sheetmaterial, and flexible partitioning means' entirely within said coveringand secured thereto for holding said insulating material from shiftinglengthwise vof said blanket with the ilbers thereof unattached to eachother.

3. A ilexible insulating blanket comprising a plurality of staggeredoverlapping bodies of loose fluffy insulating material enclosed within asheath of sheet material having a vapor-proofing coating on only theinner side thereof.

4. A flexible insulating blanket comprising loose fibr of fluilyinsulating material unattached to each other enclosed within a coveringof ilbrous sheet materialk having a vapor-prooilng coating on the innerside thereof. and nexible means of sheet material entirely within saidcoveringy andsecured thereto to form ilexlble transverse parti tions forholding said insulating material from 5 snutmglengtnwise of said blanketwith the aber;

thereof unattached to each other. Y

5. An insulating blanket comprising a pair of spaced cover plies ofsheet material, ilexible, extensible means mounted between Asaid pliesto divide the space between the same intofa plurality that is, from 50to 130 degreesF., on the other of adjacent pockets having ilexiblewalls, and loose insulating material in said pockets, said pocketshaving walls extending obliquely to said cover plies, said cover pliesand said means being secured together along the longitudinal margins ofsaid blanket to close the endsoi saidpockets.

6. An insulating blanket comprising a plurality of staggered overlappingbodies of loose iluily -insulating material mounted within a sheath ofsheet material, said blanket having an extensible ply of sheet materiallying within said sheath and v extending between said vbodies to formvpockets having ilexible walls to hold ysaid bodies in position in saidsheath, said sheath comprising plies h secured together along thelongitudinal margins of said blanket to close the ends of said pockets.

'1. An insulating blanket comprising a plurality of staggeredoverlapping bodies of loose tluily in sulating material mounted within asheath of sheet material, said blanket vhaving a ply of exextensiblesheet material being slack between the points of'securement thereof toprovide-flexible partitions within said blanket. A v g 8. A ilexibleinsulating blanketcomprising a pair of spaced cover plies of sheetmaterial, an

4o intermediate ply of extensible, ilexible sheet material mountedbetween said plies and extending back and forth between the same todivide the space between the same into a plurality ofpadjacent pocketshaving flexible walls, and loose insulating material in vsaid pockets,said plies being all secured together along the longitudinal margins ofsaid blanket to close the ends of said pockets.

9. An insulating blanket comprising a pair of spaced cover plies ofsheet material. an intermediate ply of extensible sheet material mountedbetween said plies and extending back and forth between the same todivide the space between `the same into a plurality of adjacent pocketshaving ilexible walls, and loose insulating material in said pockets,said intermediate ply having portions extending alongside each of saidouter plies and secured thereto and portions extending obliquely betweensaid plies to provide inclined nexiy ble extensible partitions betweensaid pockets.

10. An insulating blanket comprising a pair of spaced cover plies ofsheet material, an intermediate ilexible ply of corrugated sheetmaterial mounted between said plies and having inclined portionsextending back vand forth between the same to divide the space betweenthe sameinto a plurality of adjacent pockets, each of said inclinedportions having a plurality of corrugations therein and loose insulatingmaterial in said pockets.

1l. An insulating blanket comprising a pair of spaced cover plies ofsheet material. and loose insulating material between said plies,said-cover plies having a wax coating on the inner sides thereof and acoating of asphaltic material hav-v ing a lower melting point than saidwax over said wax coating.

12. An insulating blanket comprising covering plies having anundercoating of wax on the inner side thereof and a coating of anasphaltic material having a lower melting point than said wax over-saidundercoating.

13. An insulating blanket comprising a pair of spaced cover plies ofsheet material, means mounted between said plies to divide the spacebetween the same into a plurality of adjacent flexible walled pockets,and loose insulating material in said pockets, said cover plies havingan undercoatlng of wax on the inner side thereof and a coating of anasphaltic material having a lower melting point than said wax over saidundercoating securing said means to said plies a't spaced intervals. l

i4. A flexible insulating blanket comprising a pair of spaced coverplies of sheet material, means mounted between said plies to define thespace between the same into a plurality of adjacent overlapping,oppositely directed, daring ilexible walled pockets. extending from oneof said cover plies to adjacent the other thereof, and loose insulatingmaterial in said pockets.

15. A flexible insulating blanket comprising a plurality of overlappingbodies of fluily insulating material made up of loose unconnected fibersmounted within a sheath of sheet material. said blanket having a ply offlexible extensible sheet material mounted within said sheath forholding said bodies from shifting lengthwise of said blanket and inpredetermined overlapped relation to each other, said ply havingportions thereof extending along opposite walls of said sheath andsecured thereto and oppositely inclined extensible portions extendingbetween said walls lto form flaring, alternating, oppositely directed,flexible walled pockets extending from one wall to the other wall ofsaid sheath.

16. An insulating blanket of composite structure comprising two externalplies of fibrous sheet material, a longer inner ply of nbrous sheetmaterial, said inner ply extending back and forth between the innersides of said external plies and having portions lying alongside saidexternal plies and adhesively secured thereto, said external plies beingheld in flexible spaced relation to each other by said inner ply, saidinner ply being extensible between the cemented portions thereof to formflexible walled deformable compartments, and bodies of loose insulatingfibers in said compartments.

17. An insulating blanket of composite structure comprising two externalplies of fibrous sheet material, a longer inner ply of fibrous sheetmaterial. said inner ply extending back and forth between the innersides of said external plies and havingpoxtions lying alongside saidexternal plies and adhesively secured thereto, said external plies beingheld in flexible spaced relation to each other by said inner ply, saidinner ply being. corrugated between the cemented portions thereof toform flexible walled deformable compartments having extensible wallsextending obliquely between said external plies, and bodies of looseinsulating fibers in said compartments.

18. An insulating blanket of composite structure comprising two externalplies of fibrous sheet material, a longer inner ply of fibrous sheetmaterial, said inner ply extending back and forth between the innersides of said external plies and having portions lying alongside saidexternal plies and adhesively secured thereto, said external plies beingheldin flexible spaced relation t0 each other by said inner ply, saidinner ply being extensible between the cemented portions thereof to formflexible walled deformable compartments, and bodies of loose insulatingfibers in said compartments, said plies extending laterally beyond saidbodies and said lateral extensions being secured together along theentire length of said blanket to close the ends of said compartments andform iiaps along the longitudinal margins of said blanket.

19. A kcontinuous insulation blanket of determined width and thicknessflexible in all directions, having a medial insulating portion andmarginal mounting portions narrower than said insulating portion, saidblanket comprising paper cover plies and a paper ply therebetween, themedial portion thereof constituting a continuous undulating webextending back and forth between said cover plies having spaced portionsthereof engaging said cover plies and cemented thereto and free portionsalternating with said cemented portions to provide alternately arrangedoverlapping pockets on opposite sides of said web between said coverplies, in said medial portion of said blanket, said web beingtransversely rrugated to form undulations in said free portions thereofextending parallel to the undulations of said web to provide flexiblewalls for said pockets extensible longitudinally of said blanket, saidpockets being filled with a iluily mass of insulating fibres unattachedto each other, the marginal portions of the ply between said cover pliesbeing flattened and engaged continuously with said cover plies, saidplies being folded longitudinally of said blanket and cemented togetherto seal said pockets and form multiple ply ilanges along the margins ofsaid blanket providing said mounting portions.

WILLIAM B. BYERS.

